The Highwayman
by Ai Tennshi
Summary: SessRin AU based on "The Highwayman." Sesshoumaru is a highwayman, and Rin is the local innkeeper's daughter. They know each other better than anyone knows, Sesshoumaru has some secret in his past...and this can only end in tragedy.
1. Part One

_Disclaimer: I own nothing Inuyasha-related, and the Highwayman does not belong to me._

Author's Note: This is basically just The Highwayman told with Inuyasha characters, and a few embellishments of my own. Enjoy!

**The Highwayman** 

_The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,_

_The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,_

_The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor,_

_And the highwayman came riding-_

_Riding-riding-_

_The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door._

_*_

_He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,_

_A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;_

_They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!_

_And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,_

_His pistol butts a-twinkle,_

_His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky._

Rin hummed as she brushed her hair, waiting. He was to come that night, as he did most nights. She thought of him as she waited, as she did everyday.

A tap on the window gave the nineteen-year-old a start, and Rin opened the window and looked down quickly. She fought down her disappointment when it was only Kohaku, throwing rocks at her window. Of course, she should have known—_he_ never had tapped on her window to get her attention.

"Why are you throwing rocks at my window, Kohaku?" she asked him. "You could just knock on the door."

Kohaku laughed at that, tossing and catching a small rock that he had probably intended to throw if she had not answered at the first.

"It's much more interesting this way," he told her with a grin. Rin could not help but grin back. Any girl who won his heart someday would be lucky. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out for a walk—or a ride, if you like—since the moon's so beautiful tonight."

"Sorry," Rin sighed, shaking her head with a smile. "I'm a little tired tonight." Kohaku's disappointment was evident, and a pang of guilt swept through her chest. But she couldn't bear the thought of missing _him_ when he came, so she simply smiled apologetically. "Goodnight," she said in an equally apologetic tone. Echoing her words, Kohaku waved as Rin shut the window again.

She returned to brushing her long, black hair as she waited, more anxious than before. Sometimes, she thought she heard the sound of hooves, but when she peeked out of the window, it always proved to be her imagination. After some time, she stopped going to the window at the sound of hooves, and listened instead for another sound at the window.

After some time, another sound floated to her from the window. This was not a tap, but a whistled tune—a very familiar tune—and her heart leapt into her throat. She opened the window again, and this time smiled down at the elegant silver-haired man that sat on his black horse beneath her window. He wore leather boots of perfect fit that went up to his thighs, breeches made of fine deerskin, and a coat of velvet, achieving a look of profound elegance that would have been unexpected of any other outlaw. The fact that he was missing an arm was almost unnoticeable. She could see a rapier at his side, as well as twinkles that she knew was the moonlight reflecting off of his pistols. Seeing him always made her feel safe, even with the many weapons that he always held on his person.

"Sesshoumaru," she said with a smile that lit up her face. The handsome face of the man she loved—scarred on the cheeks with a crescent moon-shaped birthmark on his forehead, but handsome all the same—always made her smile. Oh, they would probably never marry, and she was well aware of that. He was an outlaw who raided any person or company going along the highway that had anything to do with the King. They _certainly_ could not marry while he continued to do that, nor would Sango and Miroku ever allow it. But she was content, and when he gave her a rare smile, she knew, as always, that he was as well.

"A large caravan shall come along the highway tonight," her lover told her. "I plan to try and rob it, and be back before dawn. But if they have guards this time," he continued with a steady look into her eyes, "I will have to fight, which could take up quite some time. If I cannot come tonight, however, I shall come to you without fail tomorrow night. Watch for me by the moonlight, and I promise that nothing shall keep me from you."

Rin smiled. She knew that she could not ask him to stay for long when there were raids to be done. Her Sesshoumaru's grudge against the King was a personal one, and a righteous one at that.

"I'll wait," she told him with one of her gentle, genuine smiles that had melted his heart from the very beginning. She leaned out of her window, reaching down as he stood in his stirrups and reached up. The tips of their fingers brushed, but they could get no closer. So Rin undid the braid that she had done in her hair as she waited, and let it spill down to Sesshoumaru's chest. She watched him run his fingers through it and smell it for a moment, and then press a kiss to it.

As she stood up straight once more, their eyes met.

"I love you," Rin told Sesshoumaru even as her eyes said the same. "Be careful."

"I will," he said to her, his voice almost a whisper and his eyes speaking of the love that he did not put into words. "By the moonlight, then."

As he rode out, never did it occur to either lover that a figure had seen and heard everything from the shadows of the stables; neither realized that that night would be their last night together.

A young man had been making his way back to Rin's window from the stables when he heard a rustle at the gates. Stopping, he had turned to see a man that he recognized as the famed local highwayman ride into the courtyard, stop below Rin's window, and begin to whistle. His surprise had only amplified when Rin greeted him warmly, as though she had been expecting him all along. As their conversation progressed, his fear and anger grew. How had sweet, innocent Rin come to love the highwayman—an outlaw—as she so obviously did? It all became clear to Kohaku when Rin voiced her love, and the highwayman voiced nothing in reply. Rin was being used—for her innocence, her unquestioning faith, her unconditional love—and it had to be stopped.

So that night, Kohaku swiftly saddled a horse and rode out to send a messenger to the King, informing him of all that he had seen and heard.

_Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,_

_And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;_

_He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there_

_But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,_

_Bess, the landlord's daughter,_

_Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair._

_*_

_And dark in the old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked_

_Where Tim the ostler listened; his face was white and peaked;_

_His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,_

_But he loved the landlord's daughter,_

_The landlord's red-lipped daughter,_

_Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say-_

A small girl sat, bruised and sniffling as she huddled in a small hollow created by the roots of a large tree. She looked no older than six, and was skinny beyond all reason.

The girl suddenly sat up, alert. She thought she heard a small rustling sound. Perhaps there was someone nearby who could help her? Well, even if they couldn't, perhaps they would have food… She followed the sound and finding its source in a clearing not far off, where a handsome silver-haired young man was eating. His slightly fancy, elegant attire caught her eye for a second, but it faded from her mind almost instantly when she saw the food.

Without a thought to manners—there was no need for them any longer, as far as she was concerned—or the young man's wrath should she be caught, she crept up and attempted to take a piece of beef from the small pack of food beside him. But the young man caught her hand without even looking up.

"What are you doing?" he demanded in a terrifyingly cold voice. She did not even flinch. She only looked up at him pleadingly. Finally he looked her way. For years to come, the girl would vividly remember the way that his eyebrows had shot straight up at the sight of a small girl, skinny as anything. "Where are your parents?" he asked. She looked down, her eyes darkening. "Dead." His voice was flat as he spoke that one syllable; it was a statement, not a question. "What are you doing here?"

"The guards…they hit me," the girl replied quietly after a few moments of silence.

"Royal guards?" he asked sharply, though he was still cold and calm. She looked up at him in confusion. "Did they wear red uniforms with black sashes?" She nodded, and his eyes darkened. "All of them put together are not worth half your life," he said.

When the girl thought back years later, she would know that that had been him expressing his hate; but at this time, it meant that someone cared for her, at least a little bit. She smiled. He looked at her dispassionately for a moment, and then held out a piece of cheese.

"Eat," he said simply, and she happily obeyed.

When he left, she followed. He showed no sign that he knew that she was there, but she knew that he did not mind, for when he sat down to eat, he always placed the food pack beside him, allowing her to eat as much as she pleased. It was only on the fourth day after she started following him that he gave any active recognition of her existence.

"What is your name?" he asked coldly.

"Rin," the girl replied with a smile. After a moment of thought, she added one thing more. "I'm eight." The young man looked at her steadily for a moment, and then turned away to resume walking. But now that he had spoken to her, Rin had enough courage to speak as well.

"What's your name?" she asked. The man looked around and fixed her with a steady glare. She just continued to gaze up at him with wide, questioning eyes.

"Sesshoumaru," he finally replied.

Rin smiled, satisfied for the time.

_"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night,_

_But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;_

_Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,_

_Then look for me by moonlight,_

_Watch for me by moonlight,_

_I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."_

_*_

_He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,_

_But she loosened her hair i' the casement! His face burnt like a brand_

_As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;_

_And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,_

_(Oh, sweet black waves in the moonlight!)_

_Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the West._

Rin was awake as soon as the first rays of morning sunlight shone through the windows. She sighed in disappointment—apparently the caravan had been guarded, which meant that she would probably be waiting quite a while. She attempted to drown herself in her chores from morning until dusk, so as not to think of the man that she missed. She cleaned the stables, cooked lunch for the guests, and saw Sango off—she apparently had some important errand to attend to.

At dusk, she heard the distinguished sound of horse hooves. Her heart leapt in delight, and she ran out into the front yard. However, to her surprise, it was a troop of royal soldiers. There looked to be about ten or so. Rin blinked in surprise as she watched them approach. They did not often come down this highway—especially in such large numbers. She watched, concealing her glare as they approached, fully expecting them to gallop past.

So it came as a shock to her when they slowed and stopped at the gate of Houshi Inn. She stared in surprise.

"Don't just stand there, girl!" snapped the man who led them; he appeared to be the general. "Open the gates!" Rin hastily complied, and they rode into the courtyard without another glance her way. Then they dismounted. The general turned to her sharply. "Put our horses in the stables. They are to have the best oats available, and each is to have its own stall." And with that, they all entered the inn.

Rin sighed, but began leading the horses into the stable, two at a time. She counted sixteen horses, and concluded that there must be sixteen men. She went to get oats and clean water for them all, and when she finished, she returned into the inn through the back door.

"Oh, good, you're here," said a very pregnant Kagome as she bustled around the kitchen. "Go and see how many of them need their mugs refilled, will you?" Rin silently obeyed, entering the dining hall. She stood still for a moment at the sight that met her eyes.

The soldiers sat with their feet up on the tables, carelessly waving their mugs around. Rin was appalled. Most people had better manners in this inn; these men were muddying the tables with their boots and spilling more of the expensive ale than they were drinking.

"Girl! More ale!" shouted a soldier. Rin, despite her displeasure at their actions, took his mug and refilled it. More demands for additional ale followed the first, and she ran back and forth, refilling the large mugs. Her mother was still out, her aunt and father were cooking them food, and she had no idea where Kohaku and Souta were, so she worked alone. The general had been regarding her thoughtfully, and now addressed her.

"Girl!" he called. "Do you own this inn?" Rin looked at him in surprise. Everyone knew who ran the Houshi Inn…

"No, sir," she replied quietly, trying to the best of her ability to act the part of the submissive, gentle, innocent girl. "It is run by a couple named Sango and Miroku." The general's sharp, unwavering eyes were starting to frighten her.

"Then you are under their employment?" he asked. Rin was beginning to feel very nervous as well. Why did such things concern him?

"No, sir," Rin said again. "They took me in when I was young—they are parents to me, so I help around with the inn." The man's eyes sharpened further at her words, and he leaned forward.

"Do they have any daughters apart from yourself?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Rin said nervously. He raised his eyebrows impatiently, waiting for more information. "She is Sango and Miroku's daughter by blood, sir."

"I see. Does she have any lover, by any chance?" Rin stared at this inquiry. Surely he was jesting…? But the look on his face indicated that he truly expected an answer. But this was the sort of thing that everyone knew… Then again, these were the _King's_ men…

"No, sir," Rin replied, attempting to subdue the snarl that was fighting for release in her chest upon feeling anew who these people truly were. "She is but five years of age."

"And they have no other daughters but you and this infant?" He leaned forward intently as he asked.

"No, sir."

The man leaned back with a triumphant smile.

"She's the one, men," he told his soldiers in a drawl that almost seemed idle. "Seize her."

_He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;_

_And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,_

_When the road was a gipsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,_

_A red-coat troop came marching-_

_Marching-marching-_

_King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door._

"Why do you always have blood on you after you come back?" the girl asked quietly.

The young man looked around at her with piercing golden eyes, but she did not flinch as others would have; she never had. Her bright brown eyes shone not with her usual energy, but with hesitant concern. Sesshoumaru would have verbally slaughtered any other who showed the remotest sign of pity, but Rin was different—in the two years that she had been following him, he had found that he could never treat her as roughly as he treated all others. He turned back to tending to his wounds.

"I fight," he replied simply, even with the knowledge that it would only provoke more questions out of the girl.

"Why?" she asked instantly. "Who?"

"I fight the King's men and the King's men alone," he replied, completing his self-treatment and standing. "Let's go."

"But why?" she repeated even as she followed him as he began to walk. They were always walking through the woods, though she had no idea why they did. It seemed pointless to wander around when they always returned to the highway. And there he would always tell her to wait in the bushes with a promise that he would return, and he always did—always covered in blood. This had been an unspoken ritual over the past two years that she spent with him. She had never dared ask until then.

"To regain what is mine," replied the silver-haired youth shortly without sparing her a glance. Rin looked up at him wide-eyed with sympathy.

"They took something from you?" she asked sadly. There was a short silence.

"Yes."

"Me too."

Sesshoumaru looked down at the girl in surprise. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she looked up at him sadly.

"They came in and killed Mama and Papa. They couldn't find me, because I was hiding like Mama told me to, but when they went away and I tried to get out and run away, they saw me running and hit me." Rin finished and looked up appealingly for a few moments. When he said nothing, she sniffled and looked down.

But then she felt a large, warm hand on her head, stroking her hair gently. Rin had come to know her protector quite well over the past two years, and this was the most that he had ever touched her—it was the ultimate gesture of comfort coming from him.

With a sob, Rin threw herself at Sesshoumaru and sobbed, hugging him around the middle as tightly as she could. Sesshoumaru stood in place, returning the hug tentatively with one arm and stroking her hair with the other hand until she had cried all she needed. Finally, Rin looked up, hiccoughing slightly as she wiped her eyes with one hand and continued to cling to Sesshoumaru with the other.

"What did they take from you?"

Normally, Sesshoumaru would have ignored the question and resumed walking. But perhaps because the girl had just spilled her heart out to him, the Ice Prince, he did not do so now.

"They killed my father." Rin cocked her head in question.

"What about your mother?"

"She died giving birth to me."

"Oh."

"But they killed my brother's mother."

Rin looked up in surprise. She had not thought that he would volunteer any further information. Especially about a brother. She had once asked him if he had any sisters or brothers, and he had actually growled at her.

"You have a brother?"

"If you can call him that," Sesshoumaru said in a tone that told Rin that he was not very fond of this brother.

"Don't you like him?"

Sesshoumaru fixed Rin with a steady, cold gaze, and she sighed. Seeing that she had gotten the message, he turned and resumed walking. Rin followed. Now that he was actually answering her questions, she did not intend to rest until she had answers to all her questions.

A sudden thought brightened her spirits—perhaps if she asked about a different topic…

"You're only eighteen, right? So how do you fight so many people at once?"

_They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead,_

_But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed;_

_Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side!_

_There was death at every window;_

_And hell at one dark window;_

_For Bess could see, through the casement, the road that _he_ would ride._

Rin struggled, fighting and screaming with everything she had in her as they dragged her out of the bar and up the stairs.

"_What_ do you think you're doing to my niece?" came a dangerous voice. Rin was not sure whether to laugh or cry. She had no idea why they wanted her, but the king's men were not lenient. Kagome could get wrapped up in the whole mess as well, and she was not nearly as capable as she would have been at fighting them off without her round belly in the way.

"Do you not know?" asked the general lazily from where he still lounged on the table.

"Of course not!" Kagome fumed. She would have yelled at him for putting his feet on the table, but knew that it was best not to be too terse with the royal guards. "And were her father and uncle not out in the stables with her brothers at the moment, caring for your horses, they would be just as angry as I am. Rin's never done anything wrong—put her down!"

"Never done anything wrong, have you?" drawled the general, turning to Rin with a smirk. The men had stopped attempting to drag her any further, and simply ensured that she could not escape. "Well then, why don't you tell your aunt exactly what you do in the middle of the night?"

"I do nothing out of the ordinary!" Rin said angrily.

"Really?" The general turned away, taking a sip of his ale before leaning back in his chair and smirking at her again. "Because I have a source that informs me that last night you were speaking very…familiarly with a certain man who is currently detained on the highway…"

Rin froze. The general's smirk widened.

"She has no idea what you're talking about!" fumed Kagome. "Release her at once!"

"Oh, maybe _you_ don't know what I'm talking about," the general told Kagome calmly, "but _she_ certainly does."

Indeed, Rin was white as a sheet. Then her anger roared back into life, ten times more vicious than before.

"He fights for what is rightfully his," Rin growled in a tone that she had never used before, and her eyes flashed with a fire that made even Kagome step back. "Much more than I can say for you or your _King_."

"So you believe in your lover's cause." The general stood and walked over to stand before Rin. "Very admirable, child, but unfortunately, that's not the way things work."

"I am no child," Rin growled.

"Ah yes, my mistake—I'm sure that he robbed you of that long ago." Rin blinked at him a moment, and then her face began to burn. But the general went on. "As I was saying, we only intend to use you as bait—after all, he's obviously used you for your innocence and naïveté—so you have nothing to worry about."

"As if you won't kill me anyway," Rin snarled. So many people dear to her had lost dear ones to the king's soldiers—Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru lost a father as well as Inuyasha's mother; Sango, Kagome, Kohaku and Souta had lost their parents as well as their entire village; Miroku had lost his father and grandfather. The anger amplified. "And you'll never get him, no matter how hard you try—he'll kill you and your king in the end. And I certainly won't be helping you."

"Rin? What's going on?" Kagome whispered faintly. Rin's attention snapped back to her aunt. The general laughed.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Ka-"

But she got no further, for now that the general was done with her, the soldiers were resuming dragging her up the stairs, and she resumed struggling against them. But it was futile. In what seemed like no time at all, they had her bound to the foot of her own bed. Not that they had actually chosen that particular room with the knowledge that it was hers, of course. They simply needed the room with the window with the best view of the road, which happened to be hers.

No sooner had they finished binding her than one of the two soldiers grabbed her face roughly and kissed her. She struggled, but to no avail—until his tongue entered her mouth.

Rin bit down as hard as she could, and the man sprang away with a yelp.

"You-"

"Stop it," the other soldier cut in, holding the first back with a look of disgust. "That's the bandit's plaything. You actually want to touch something as soiled as that?" The first soldier grunted reluctantly in agreement.

Rin had no time to breathe a sigh of relief, however, because the door slammed open.

"What is this?" thundered the man who entered, followed by two younger men.

"Papa," Rin muttered nervously, though she could not help but feel relieved to the point of weakness that someone was attempting to save her.

"Rin!" one of the identical blue-eyed boys called around his brother-in-law's shoulder. "Kagome called us, it's okay—we'll get you out!"

"Thanks, Souta, but-"

"Didn't that fat lady tell you?" demanded the first soldier moodily. "This 'daughter' of yours is a whore, that's what."

"Don't you talk about Rin like that!" shouted Kohaku angrily from beside his twin brother.

"Aw…" the guard mocked in fake sympathy. "Wanted her for yourself, did you?"

Kohaku flushed in anger and shame.

"She's admitted to it," the second soldier commented lightly from behind.

"I was under the impression that a whore was a woman who beds a large number of people?" Rin snapped.

"I would assume that if you're desperate enough to bed an outlaw, then he isn't your first," the second soldier replied, flicking a strand of blond hair casually out of his face.

"I've bedded no one," Rin snapped right back.

"Oh? And so you and this bandit just started meeting in the dead of night one day because you decided you liked to talk?" Rin pursed her lips, refusing to reply. She was not giving this man her life story. She glared with fire-filled eyes.

"What has she done? I demand to know!" roared Miroku, eyes flashing.

"Go to the general—he's got the letter," grunted the first soldier moodily.

"That I will," snarled Miroku, spinning around and stomping down to the bar. Rin flinched—she had never seen him this angry. Actually, she had never seen him very angry at all.

Souta had followed Miroku, and Rin was too busy glaring at the guards to notice Kohaku standing rooted in the doorway, pale as a ghost as the realization of what he had done truly struck him.

_They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest;_

_They bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!_

_"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her._

_She heard the dead man say-_

Look for me by moonlight;

Watch for me by moonlight;

I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!

Rin sprang up in her unfamiliar bed to the sound of a tune. It was a tune that she had hummed as a child, and there was only one person she knew of who could possibly know it. She darted over to the window and threw it open.

Sure enough, Sesshoumaru stood in the courtyard below the window, whistling the tune. He stopped at the crash of the window opening and looked up at her, expressionless as always.

But his eyes demanded explanation.

"I'm so sorry!" Rin gushed hastily, trying to explain. "You hadn't come back in a day and I was really hungry, so I went wandering around to find food, and found this inn, so I tried begging, but the mistress here—she's called Sango, you know, isn't that a nice name?—thought I shouldn't be wandering around so "underfed and underclothed" as she put it, so she invited me to eat with them since they were just having their meal, and then when I finished, she and everyone—there's a big family here, since she has a husband and a younger sister and two younger brothers, and also there's another person staying here, though he's apparently sick so I didn't see him, but I think that he's Sango's younger sister's lover or something—anyway, they decided I ought to at least spend the night here, and they said they'd figure out what to do with me tomorrow, and I said it's all right because I'll just go back to the forest, but she wouldn't listen, and I figured it wouldn't matter since you were busy anyway-"

"I am not mad, Rin," Sesshoumaru said shortly, cutting off her tirade. She knew him well enough that she could distinguish the glint of amusement in his eyes.

Rin blinked. He was amused?

"You're not mad?" she repeated, though her eyes and ears were both telling her that he wasn't, so it must be so.

"No," Sesshoumaru confirmed. There was a moment of silence. Then, "Do you like it here?"

A pause.

"I suppose I do," Rin replied slowly. "Sango could be a little harsh on her brothers, but she was really nice, and her husband Miroku was even nicer. He calmed her down when she was mad at her little brothers—Kohaku and Souta are twins, and they seemed sort of like troublemakers, but not the bad kind. And Kagome—that's Sango's younger sister, but she's older than Kohaku and Souta—seemed sort of worried, but I think that's because she's taking care of the sick person."

"So if they asked you to stay here, you would?"

Rin fell silent in surprise. Her first thought was to wonder if she could stay here. Her second was to think if she could ask for a job as helper in the inn. And then she wondered if Sesshoumaru was trying to be rid of her.

"Do you want me to stay here?" Rin asked timidly.

"If you wish to return with me, then do so."

Rin smiled. So he wasn't trying to get rid of her. He was simply offering her a choice—whichever lifestyle she preferred, he would allow her to live it. And Rin…while she adored Sesshoumaru, she really didn't want to be a burden. In that respect, she was eager to ask for a job in the inn the next day. But she also wanted to be with Sesshoumaru—he had been her protector and companion for five years, and he was dearer to her than anyone had ever been.

"If I asked for work…" she said hesitantly, "Would I still be able to see you?"

Sesshoumaru looked up at her thoughtfully.

"Should you wish it, I will come every evening that I am able."

A bright grin lit up Rin's face—and then it froze.

"But what if they don't give me work?" she asked timidly.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed.

"Then you will return to me, if you wish."

Rin beamed at him, and she could tell that his eyes softened as she did.

———_Continues in Part Two._


	2. Part Two

_She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good!_

_She writhed her hands till here fingers were wet with sweat or blood!_

_They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,_

_Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,_

_Cold, on the stroke of midnight,_

_The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!_

"Rin," said her Uncle as he stepped into the room. The guards looked up, but did not make any move to stop him talking to her.

Rin looked up at her Uncle, and found herself choked as she saw his eyes—those golden orbs were so like Sesshoumaru's. They were so different in feature otherwise, and yet their eyes were perfectly alike. It took a moment to collect herself. Uncle Inuyasha was just that: Uncle Inuyasha. As he had been for years.

It was odd, she suddenly found herself thinking, that her uncle—her mother's younger sister's husband—was _younger_ brother to her lover. And yet said lover was no more than eight years older than herself. Rin shook her head, clearing it of wistful thoughts of Sesshoumaru. She needed her wits about her at the moment—she needed to speak to Uncle Inuyasha.

He was looking at her in silence, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly. Rin knew that he had heard the accusation that she was lover to the local highwayman; naturally, Uncle Inuyasha was under no illusions as to the identity of said highwayman.

"Why?" he finally managed. Rin was silent for a moment. Dare she tell her story before the soldiers? Then again, if she didn't tell him now, chances were that she never would—she was almost ready to bet that they would all be dead by this time the following day.

"When I was eight, when I was orphaned, beaten, and starving, I stumbled across him in the woods. I tried to steal his food; he caught me, but let me have some anyway. After that, I followed him around like he was my hero. He was my protector for five years before Mama and Papa took me in here." Rin smiled at her Uncle, who was staring at her as though he had swallowed a porcupine. "I didn't want to part with him, so he agreed to come by every night that he could. So we've been living for the past six years."

"But…_lovers_, Rin? You and…and the _highwayman_?" Inuyasha's eyes were begging for an explanation.

"He fights to regain what is his—and his brother's." Rin looked straight into Inuyasha's eyes, trying to tell him what she could not tell him plainly. Then she smiled. "And we only really became lovers the year before last."

"You mentioned a brother," interrupted a guard. "Perhaps if you'll tell us _who_ this brother is, we can let you go without further ado."

"And I suppose you think you'll use his brother as bait instead?" Rin scoffed. "I'd like to see you try." Inuyasha found himself suppressing a sort of horrified amusement at the thought of the guards trying and failing miserably to use him to lure out his brother.

"Don't get too cheeky there, girl. No one said we had to keep you nice and happy. In fact," the guard added with a calm smile, "we may even get our reputedly calm and collected highwayman to lose that calm of his if we bruised your pretty little face."

"Don't you touch her!" snapped Inuyasha.

"You'll still protect your 'niece' after you've found that she's a common whore?" asked the guard. Inuyasha's eyes flashed, but before he could even open his mouth, Rin was off again.

"You all seem to think that he's only ever been interested in me because he wanted to bed me. Well, let me tell you something: he would not bed _anyone_—me or anyone else—with scum like you running free and terrorizing _his_ land!"

Inuyasha's eyes widened in horror a split second before the guard's fist came down on her face in a resounding blow.

"How dare you-" But the other guard stepped forward, brandishing a gun threateningly—and pointing it at Rin. Inuyasha held his tongue, but did not drop his glare.

"King Naraku defeated the House of Taisho in a fair and even battle. He is now ruler of these parts, and to insult him is treason."

"Like _hell_ it was fair and even," Rin hissed, and Inuyasha was torn between pride of his niece's courage, fear of what would befall her for this, and wonder at the extent of her devotion to the brother that he had always thought to be cold and heartless.

_The tip of one finger touched it; she strove no more for the rest!_

_Up, she stood up to attention, with the barrel beneath her breast,_

_She would not risk their hearing; she would not strive again;_

_For the road lay bare in the moonlight;_

_Blank and bare in the moonlight;_

_And the blood of her veins in the moonlight throbbed to her love's refrain._

Rin threw on her cloak on over the nightclothes that she knew were a luxury to even people of her Mama and Papa's status. After being with them for two years, she was perfectly accustomed to this life. Even calling Sango and Miroku 'Mama' and 'Papa', which had been terribly awkward at first, was now second nature. They were practically parents to her, though when she thought about it, she had to giggle at the knowledge that they were only eleven and thirteen years older than herself.

Over those two years, Sessoumaru had always come at least ever other night. There was the rare occasion when he would miss two nights in a row, but he avoided doing so whenever possible. Rin was finding that she was thinking of him less and less as her 'protector' and seeing him more and more as a single man—not that she would ever tell him so. No doubt he would be disgusted at the thought that a fifteen-year-old was infatuated with him.

But he had been absent for three nights; Rin knew in her gut that something was wrong. So it was that night that she snuck out her window, carefully lowering herself to dangle by the arms from the ledge of her window before bracing herself and letting go.

The impact with the ground sent a brief pain shooting up her legs, but she pretended not to feel it as she ran soundlessly into the stables. She had no patience to saddle the horse; she only secured the bridle in place, and then nimbly leapt up onto its back. She nudged its flanks with her heels and sent it galloping across the courtyard, through the gates, and then down the dark highway.

With her she carried only a pouch of simple medicinal herbs that Aunt Kagome had shown her how to use, and a lantern was clutched in her left hand to light the way.

It was half an hour before she saw what she had been seeking. It was a horrific sight—bloody bodies clad in red uniforms with black sashes scattered over the road. There was a single whinnying horse among them that would have broken her heart in any other situation, but she could have cared less at that particular moment. Rin leaped off her horse, retaining only enough presence of mind to wrap the bridle around a low tree branch after she swung off its back.

She leaned down to inspect the royal guards' bodies—the blood was hard and black, but the bodies were not yet smelling. This was a fairly recent fight. So Sesshoumaru had to be somewhere nearby.

Whenever there had been a fight, Sesshoumaru had always made an effort to keep as far away from the scene of the slaughter as possible, to keep from being caught by a second following troop, should there be one. But if he were badly wounded…

She moved to enter the trees—and then stopped and looked back. In the instance that Sesshoumaru _was_ injured and hadn't managed to get far from here, it was best that it not be so apparent that there was a fight there.

She took hold of one of the bodies by the ankles and dragged it into the trees, depositing it in the bushes about ten strides away from the road. She did the same with the other bodies, making sure not to put more than two bodies in the same clump of bushes. She also checked each body as she deposited it in its hiding spot to see if any still lived. None did. And then she looked at the paths of crushed grass that she had made by dragging the bodies. Lowering herself to her knees, she straightened the grass as best she could; then she covered the more prominent bloodstains on the road by shifting the dust with the toes of her shoes.

When that was done, she did not even bother to look back to inspect her work, or to worry about the still-living horse before darting into the trees. Rin didn't dare call out for fear of attracting unwanted attention, but she searched behind ever tree, in every section of deep undergrowth.

It felt like hours later that she found him at last, lying motionless and pale in the thick undergrowth at the roots of a giant oak tree. Rin ran up to him—and gave a cry of dismay when she saw the blood that coated his left side.

His left arm was gone.

Rin knelt beside him, her heart refusing to beat and her lungs refusing to breathe. She could not find her voice as she dropped to her knees beside him and brushed a hand through his sweat-drenched bangs. He was cold and clammy. The coolness of his skin sent a tremor of terror up her spine.

"Sesshoumaru?" she whispered fearfully, not even noting the first time that she had ever called him by name. She received no reply.

She reached for his wrist with trembling hands, and probed it for a pulse with her thumb.

She found it. It was faint, but definitely there. But the stub of an arm was still bleeding, and Rin was not so naïve as to fail to realize that he did not have much life left should the bleeding continue. Swallowing hard, she ripped the left sleeve from the shredded coat to inspect the arm. She feared that she would make things worse by peeling dried blood from the wound, but she need not have worried about that: the wound was still wet enough that Sesshoumaru did not even regain consciousness as she peeled the remains of the sleeve from the stub of an arm. But that did not bode well, Rin realized when she saw that the stub was still bleeding far more heavily that she would have liked.

"Oh God," she whimpered. "I haven't got enough with me to- I've got to get you back to-"

This was no time for crying, Rin reminded herself. The man who had always protected her needed her help now, and she would _not_ fail to give it.

Well, first thing to do was to get the injured back to a place where she could take better care of him. How was she to lift him? She moved around to his right, looped that arm around her shoulder, and tried to drag him to his feet. Half way up, she looked down and saw the blood dripping from what remained of his left arm to the ground. He wouldn't make it back to the inn alive, she realized, and something twisted painfully in her chest and she thought she would vomit. The corners of her eyes stung, but she ignored it as she quickly lowered the man back to the ground.

Rin took a deep breath. If she couldn't get Sesshoumaru back to the inn to the supplies, she would have to bring the supplies herself. She glanced down at the bleeding stub—she knew very little about healing, since very few who appeared at the inn were ever gravely wounded, and she had no idea whether he could die of blood loss in the time that it would take her to go and come back.

She glanced down at the sleeve that she had torn from Sesshoumaru, but it was far too covered in hardened blood to suffice for the purpose for which she intended it. She looked down at herself—was this really a time to worry about how expensive her clothing was? So she tore off one of her sleeves, twisted it into the best imitation of a rope that she could manage, and bound Sesshoumaru's shoulder with it as tightly as she could manage, making sure to get the knot in his armpit in the hope that it would help cut off the flow from the major artery there.

Then she ran back to the road as quickly as she could manage, yanked her horse's bridle from the tree, scrambled up onto its back and kicked its sides with vigor. The horse seemed to sense her anxiety, for it leapt into a gallop without any further persuasion. Shortening the reins, Rin kicked her horse's sides as hard as she could manage all the way back to the inn. She had leapt off the horse before it had even stopped, and ran to the back door before she realized that she had climbed out her window, and the door was locked. Cursing in a vehement whisper, she ran back to the horse and led it carefully to the area beneath her window, whispering to it soothingly and trying to hide from it her own anxiety. She climbed onto its back, still murmuring soothingly—nervously—to it, and reached up, only to find that she still couldn't reach her windowsill. Suddenly she understood why the impact with the ground had hurt so much when she had jumped down.

Despair did not even cross her mind with Sesshoumaru's life at stake. She jumped up and grabbed onto her windowsill, clambering up and dropping into her room with a loud crash that she had no doubt was waking her family. But she didn't care just then. She dove at a sack under her mattress, and dragged it with her out into the hallway and down the staircase. Darting through the empty bar, she went into the back and dug into the cupboard where she knew her Aunt kept her medical supplies. Rin took a few clumps of different leaves, a handful of bark, and then dug for a jar of ointment that she knew was in there. Something cool touched her fingers in the messy cupboard, and she pulled out the familiar jar. But when she pulled the top off, it was empty.

Cursing quietly under her breath, Rin was digging for the leaves she would need to make the lotion when she heard a clatter upstairs—she had woken someone. With another curse, Rin dove for the mortar and pestle, and crammed everything into her sack as she ran across the kitchen to the back door, pulled back the bolt, threw open the door, and ran out into the courtyard. Her horse was still there, around the corner, prancing impatiently as it tried to decide whether to stay or run. Grabbing it by the reins, Rin scrambled onto its back as quickly as she could with a sack in her hands.

Rin kicked the horse's flanks, holding on with her knees as she steered with one hand on the reins. The sack was in her other hand. Never having ridden with such baggage before, she almost feared galloping—if she were to fall, what would become of Sesshoumaru then? But then again, what if he died before she reached him? Kicking her horse's flanks again, she spurred it into a gallop.

The soldiers' horse was still whinnying as Rin once again dismounted and tied her horse's bridle to a tree. But Rin paid the creature even less attention than she had before, running straight for Sesshoumaru.

Kneeling beside him, she checked the bleeding. It had slowed somewhat, and she allowed the slightest bit of relief to flow into her mind. Then she realized that slowed bleeding could also mean the worst—grabbing his right wrist, she probed desperately for a pulse—and found it.

This time, Rin did not allow herself a moment of relief. She dug through her bag for one of a particular leaf and the string. A glance at Sesshoumaru told her that he wouldn't be able to chew the herb, so she placed it into her own mouth, chewing until it was practically fine enough to swallow. Leaning over him, she then pried open his mouth with a finger, pressed her own mouth to his, and pushed the numbing herb into his mouth with her tongue. As soon as she registered that he had swallowed, she spat out what remained of the herb, digging through the sack for her water skin to rinse out her mouth: numbness would be soothing to her mind, but not helpful to Sesshoumaru for what she was about to do. Taking the string, Rin tore off a piece with her teeth. Reaching for the stub of Sesshoumaru's left arm, she tried not to think about what she was doing as she rinsed it off with the water in the water skin. She found the primary source of the leaking blood, and somehow managed to get the string around it. Tying it up tightly, she then pulled the rope from her sack and tied it around Sesshoumaru's arm, as close to the end of the stub as she could without having to worry too much about it coming off. This finished, Rin removed her sleeve from Sesshoumaru's shoulder and pulled out generous amount of various leaves with the mortar and pestle. Grinding them into a powder, she added the slightest bit of water and continued to grind until it became a paste. She spread this over the open wound of Sesshoumaru's arm, leaving herself a small amount for later. Once she had finished that, she placed some medicinal bark and leaves against the wound and bound it with a large amount of bandages.

Here she finally allowed herself to heave a sigh. Then she looked Sesshoumaru up and down—he was still covered in a number of wounds, though none of them looked nearly as critical as the arm. With a small smile, Rin began to tend for them.

"Rin?" Her name was almost indistinguishable—and of course it would be, the way his mouth would be feeling after that numbing herb.

"It's alright," said Rin as soothingly as she could, given her own state of anxiety. "Don't worry, I'm here. I- I'm healing your wounds for you, as best I can."

"Why-"

"You hadn't come in three days, and I was worried, so I came looking for- Wait, are you talking about why you're feeling weird? That was because-" Rin stopped herself in the nick of time. Aunt Kagome had said something about people often not remembering their conditions when they were like this, and how it was best not to remind them, if only to keep them calm.

"…Because I had to give you some medicine. Don't worry, the strange feeling'll go away soon." Rin mentally cursed herself, but that was all she could do at such short notice.

"Don't lie," Sesshoumaru muttered far more intelligibly than he should have been able, "I know, my arm-"

"Don't think about it," Rin hastily interjected, trying to do the same herself. "Just sleep and get better."

Sesshoumaru looked at her with hard eyes, and she knew that he would defy her. So Rin did the only thing she could think of and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. "Sleep. I love you, I won't let anything happen to you."

Strangely enough, Sesshoumaru closed his eyes at this. Rin shrugged at went back to tending to his wounds. It was not till she finished that she remembered what she had said and turned red to realize that she did, indeed, love the man who had once been her knight in shining armor.

Then she remembered the horse on the road, and the footsteps upstairs when she had left the inn, and the anxiety came flooding back. She grabbed her sack and rushed back out to the road, where she inspected the horse. It had a gash across its stomach, and one of its legs was broken. Rin treated it as best she could with the materials that she had brought with her, improvising where she had to.

"You poor thing," she cooed to the horse as she finished treating and bandaging the gash on its stomach and turned to its leg to attempt to gauge how bad the break was and whether she should attempt to treat it on her own, or call Aunt Kagome for help. When she realized that the bone was displaced, she knew that she could not set it on her own. "Just wait here a moment, all right?" she said as she stood. It was not as though the horse could go anywhere, but some reassurance could not go amiss.

Rin hurried back into the trees, though she no longer had the energy to run. Sesshoumaru still lay exactly as she had left him, and her heart broke to see him unmoving—and then leapt to see that his eyes were open and following her.

"How are you doing?" she whispered, kneeling beside the man and stroking his bangs back from his forehead—and was horrified to find that he was burning up.

"Perfectly all right," came the reply. He wasn't being sarcastic, Rin knew—he was trying to keep her from worry.

"No you're not," Rin sighed. She reached for her sack and pulled out a few more herbs, which she crushed with her fingers—she could not use the mortar and pestle without rinsing them, and the contents of her water skin were far too precious for that. "Can you swallow?" she asked as she held out a small portion of the two crushed plants before his mouth.

He gave her a nod that she knew must have been painful, and she pressed the herbs through his lips and onto his tongue, watching closely to be sure that he swallowed. She repeated this a few more times, ensuring that he received a good dose of the medicine. She then took a piece of cloth from her sack, which she wet with water from her skin, and placed that over Sesshoumaru's forehead.

"Rin," Sesshoumaru said. He always said the same thing when he was injured, so Rin didn't bother to reply. "I don't need your help," he always told her. Today, however, perhaps because of the pain, he said no more.

Mama and Papa would be worrying, Rin knew, and while she could use the wounded horse as her excuse, it was not nearly valid enough for her to stay away for too long. But she could not leave Sesshoumaru with the knowledge that he was burning up with fever. After a moment of thought, she dug into some of the bushes where she had left soldiers' bodies, and trying not to think of the disrespectful atrocity that she was committing, she removed three of their jackets. One she folded into a pillow, which she placed carefully beneath Sesshoumaru's head; the other two she rolled up and placed on either side of him before removing her own cloak and covering him with that.

"Drink," Rin murmured, propping his head up on her knee as she held her water skin by his mouth. He obediently drank a little. She set his head down, slipping the makeshift pillow beneath it as she did so. "I have to go now, but I'll be back."

She did not wait for a reply before springing to her feet and starting off, mentally listing the things she would have to bring him—and continue to bring to him until he was well enough to move around again. But Sesshoumaru's voice behind her stopped her in her tracks.

"Thank you."

Rin turned and stared, but to all appearances, the man was fast asleep. "I love you," she whispered again, quietly enough for none to hear but herself. "I really do." And she ran off, knowing that she would have to come back as soon as possible, or she would fall ill with worry.

Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! _Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs_

_ringing clear;_

Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot_, in the distance? Were they deaf that they did_

_not hear?_

_Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,_

_The highwayman came riding,_

_Riding, riding!_

_The red-coats looked to their priming! She stood up strait and still!_

Rin received no more visits; nor had she expected to. She even hoped that she would receive no more—she wanted her family to remain safe.

But even more than that, she wanted Sesshoumaru to come out of this alive. That was why, though her arms were already aching with all the effort that he had put into attempting to get free of the ropes that bound her hands behind her to the bedpost, she began her struggle anew. Still, she had been working at the ropes for hours at least, and the knots held good—nothing even loosened.

What could she do anyway? She obviously wasn't going to get free—her hands could bearly move, and she had no doubt that even if she somehow managed to free them, they would be far too tired and in pain by that point to even begin working on the other ropes that bound her waist and ankles. She needed a way to warn Sesshoumaru—a way to get him out before he was too close. Shouting would probably alert Sesshoumaru to the fact that Rin was personally in danger, which would be countereffective, and it would be too late by the time that he was in shouting distance anyway. If only she had something that was loud and signified danger... Like a cannon, or a pistol.

Rin looked at the two men guarding her, helpless. They were now sound asleep, one on either side of her. Both smelled terrible, and both were snoring so loudly that her ears were ringing; but Rin was tremendously grateful that they had fallen asleep. No further attempts to force her had been made after the first, but she wouldn't put it past them to try again if they got too bored.

But each soldier had a musket out in plain sight. They were both held pointing at Rin, just in case she attempted anything. Her hands were bound to the right side of the bedpost, and so Rin judged that the right musket was closer.

She struggled against the ropes, this time for the musket rather than freedom. The ropes were holding her as tightly as before; but, she realized, it was not as difficult if she twisted her body just so, and pushed her arms _into_ the rope.

It was a painful and uncomfortable position, but at least her fingers were nearer their goal than they had ever come before.

Still, she couldn't reach the musket.

As silently as she possibly could, Rin continued her struggle in the darkness, keeping her eyes on the road all the while. Everything would be lost if he appeared before she reached the musket.

Something trickled down her fingers, and Rin wondered if it was sweat or blood. But then she put the thought from her mind, because it didn't really matter all that much.

Her silent struggle went on for what felt like hours—she kept her eyes fixed on the window, silently begging Sesshoumaru with all her heart to not come until she had the gun.

And then something cool touched the tip of her finger, and Rin's heart leaped—she looked around, and saw that she had managed, by some miracle, to reach the trigger. A tired smile adorned her face, which was wet with sweat, and she ceased her struggling. All she needed was the trigger; the rest of the musket was of no consequence.

Rin turned her eyes back to the window, now alert and ready.

But unlike the previous night, the night was dark, and she could not even see the road through the open window. So she listened; Rin could almost hear her own heart, and was painfully aware that all her effort would be for naught if the guard beside her woke and moved away from her in the slightest, taking the musket with him. She worried that he would hear her painfully loud heart.

And then she heard the _tlot-tlot_ of a horse's hooves and stood up straight, attempting to press her finger more firmly against the trigger. The hooves were coming closer almost faster than she could bear, and Rin thought of Sesshoumaru as he rode: expressionless, but with that triumphant glint in his eyes that he always wore after a particularly successful conquest.

She stared at the darkness outside the window, praying for one—just one—sign that it really was Sesshoumaru riding toward the inn. Like the heavens had heard her prayer, the cloud cover unveiled the moon.

It only lasted for a brief moment, but it was more than enough for Rin: she saw the glint of silver hair on the ribbon over the hills as the man approached on horseback.

The guards were waking; but they did not distance themselves from Rin. In fact, they pressed closer to get their muskets flush against her sides. Rin stood, straight and silent, watching the darkness out the window. The hoof beats were getting closer.

Then she smiled, and before the guards could think to react, her finger moved in the darkness.

The musket gave a resounding _crack_ and Rin slumped over, held upright only by the ropes that bound her.

Tlot-tlot_, in the frosty silence! _Tlot-tlot_, in the echoing night!_

_Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!_

_Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,_

_Then her finger moved in the moonlight,_

_Her musket shattered the moonlight,_

_Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him—with her death._

"I said tell me!"

"And I said that it does not concern you."

"You always come back wounded!"

"Again, a matter that is none of your concern."

"I always have to tend to your wounds afterwards!"

"You insist upon it, as I recall. I care not whether you or I tend to them."

"Someone has to, they're nothing small!"

"Then I shall, as I have always done."

"You're terrible at treating yourself! And you actually intend to wrap bandages with one arm?"

"Bandages are, strictly speaking, an unnecessary waste of cloth."

"You'll kill yourself one day if you live that way!"

"If it does, it still shall be none of your concern."

"I couldn't bear to see it!" The deep brown eyes filled with tears at the mere thought.

"Very well—I shall not come again." Sesshoumaru turned and began to walk out of the stable calmly. Rin stared at his coldly retreating back for a moment, and then her anger flared.

"Don't you dare walk away like that, you cold, selfish, heartless, spoiled brat of a prince!"

Sesshoumaru turned to glare at her piercingly, only to find that she had chased after him as she spoke, and now darted around to stand in front of him, blocking his way.

"You know better than to shout at people, Rin."

"I believe I can make an exception for an arrogant, pompous, m-"

When he grabbed her by the waist and his lips seized hers, she acted as though she had expected it all along—without a moment's hesitation, her lips pressed back against his vigorously as her tongue shot out to meet his. It was a battle, each trying to gain advantage over the other. Rin's hands had made their way into the silky silver hair that she adored so, and now fisted in it as she attempted to crush his mouth harder against her own. Sesshoumaru's single arm around her waist pulled her closer to him.

Suddenly, the roughness that made it seem as though they were trying to murder one another with their mouths melted. Their lips remained together in a much softer kiss. Rin's hands had released the fistfuls of hair, and one arm wrapped about his neck; the other combed through his soft locks. Rin found this a great deal more overwhelming, and felt her knees buckle. Sesshoumaru's arm tightened around her waist, keeping her from falling as he gently broke the kiss.

"Sesshoumaru…" the whispered name fell from her lips without a single conscious thought behind it. Her arms settled around his neck as she snuggled into his chest.

"Well, well," Sesshoumaru commented dryly, "it appears that you do know my name after all."

"I've always known it," Rin replied contentedly. "I've just never seen the need to use it."

Sesshoumaru let out a small, rare chuckle as he rested his chin atop Rin's head.

"Your mother may not approve of this," he pointed out softly after a long silence. Rin smiled into his chest.

"Which part?" she asked. "The age, the criminal, or the general idea of a male after her daughter's virtue?"

"I am not after your virtue," Sesshoumaru snorted, though he made no move to pull away.

"It's not a matter of the intention," huffed Rin, pulling away just enough to glare up at him. "It's the principle of a man sneaking around in the middle of the night to spend time with her daughter, most likely to do things that aren't that innocent." Sesshoumaru cocked an eyebrow elegantly. Rin began to redden. "I'm not suggesting anything!" she blurted defensively, her face going red. Sesshoumaru raised his brow further. "Not that I'm protesting against anything either!" she quickly added, now as red as a tomato.

A hint of a smile tugged at Sesshoumaru's lips, and she sighed in defeat. When the hint of a smile became an actual small smile, Rin found herself helplessly flustered, and searched for what they had been talking about to distract herself. Right. Mama's reaction.

"The age shouldn't matter—I'm seventeen and you're five-and-twenty. That's not so much of an age gap. You're a criminal for your own justifiable reasons, and only Naraku's men are in any danger from you. And I've lived through a lot over my seventeen years of my life—I think I can make my own decisions. Besides, I know you—it's not like I just took up with anyone."

"I should hope not," growled Sesshoumaru, tightening his arm around her. Then he looked down at her seriously. "You know that we cannot marry. That we cannot…do anything, as begetting children is out of the question."

Rin smiled. "I know." And she leaned up to place another light kiss on his lips; he caught her mouth in a kiss far deeper than any she had intended, and again Rin found herself depending on Sesshoumaru's one arm for support.

He had gifted her with a true smile: something Rin knew that no one was graced with but herself. She knew that he loved her as much as she loved him. And for her, that was enough.

_He turned; he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood_

_Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood!_

_Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hear_

_How Bess, the landlord's daughter,_

_The landlord's black-eyed daughter,_

_Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there._

Sesshoumaru spent that night sleeping restlessly in the trees. He had turned from the inn because of a gunshot, but Rin's wellbeing was nagging at him, gnawing on his gut. He forced himself to wait, knowing that Rin would never forgive him for leaping into danger on her account.

He waited until the horizon was beginning to grow lighter; no longer. He had reached the inn by dawn, where he leaped from his horse...and stared at the pile of dead soldiers' bodies at the center of the courtyard.

A certain foreboding welled up in him as he ran around to the back of the stable, and thought his heart stopped at the sight before his eyes.

"Rin?" he whispered. The first to see him was a man with long, black hair that seemed strangely familiar. Sesshoumaru felt vaguely surprised at how it took him a moment to recognize his brother, but then he looked past him again to the makeshift wooden box—not even a coffin, but a _box_—that contained Rin.

"Rin," he whispered again, approaching the box numbly. He stared down at Rin's pale body for a moment, then looked at the faces around him. A glance was all that he needed to know that he was the cause of this tragedy. "How?"

"The King's men," hissed Sango. "_Why?_ Why did you let her get involved with you when you knew that this could happen?" Sesshoumaru did not reply. He had questioned their relationship so many times, yet always came to the conclusion that their connection ran so deep already that if the King's men came for Rin, it would not make any difference what sort of relationship they had—and whatever happened, Sesshoumaru could protect her.

How silly of him, to think that he could protect a woman when he turned and ran away at the first sign of trouble at her residence. A brown-haired boy was kneeling over Rin's body, running his hand over her hair as tears ran down his cheeks. A glance at his expression told Sesshoumaru more than a thousand words ever could: this boy had betrayed Rin—and he had done it out of his own love for the girl.

If Sesshoumaru had let Rin go, would she have loved this boy? Would she have graced him with the same smile that she gave Sesshoumaru? Would she have loved him the same way? Would she have forgotten Sesshoumaru and lived a life of bliss with the boy as her husband and father of her children?

Perhaps—but at the very least, she would have lived.

"The soldiers meant to use her to lure you out." Sesshoumaru recognized Inuyasha's voice at his back as he knelt beside the box. "She was bound—and we think she shot herself...to warn you."

He had heard Rin's death with his own two ears. And he had turned his back on it.

Sesshoumaru reached out to Rin, and the other boy sprang back like he had been burned. Sesshoumaru's hand paused, then brushed a stray lock of Rin's hair behind her ear.

Then he stood and looked at Inuyasha, who stood with his arm around a very pregnant, sobbing woman. This must be Rin's Aunt Kagome. He turned to look at the brown haired couple that was glaring at him, the woman looking positively murderous, a blonde little girl in her arms—Rin's adoptive parents and sister.

Rin had promised that Sesshoumaru would meet them someday. He had never dreamed that it would be her death that would make the promise come true.

In some part of his mind, he supposed that he had expected to defeat Naraku, take his rightful place, and bring Rin to his side as his wife. He had considered that he might die on the way—but never that Rin might. Sweet, innocent Rin had just seemed far too removed from death that she had seemed immortal; somehow, he had expected her to live on long after he was gone.

Yet he was looking down at her empty corpse, and her soul had been robbed by _her own hands_—and for him. _Why?_ he pleaded to her silently. _I would have happily died to save you. You _knew_ that I wanted you to live!_

But then again, Sesshoumaru suddenly realized, Rin must have felt exactly the same—and she had supported his cause as much as he had. She never would have let him die while she could help it.

"Brother," Sesshoumaru spoke steadily, never allowing his expression to waver or his voice to fail. Inuyasha's eyes widened fractionally—never before had Sesshoumaru acknowledged that they were even related. Then his eyes shot open as wide as they could go as Sesshoumaru swept into a bow to him. "If I serve my purpose—then long live the King."

"Wait—no, Sess, you can't mean to-"

Sesshoumaru halted at the entrance to the stables. "I told you that I hated that name years ago. Nothing has changed."

"But-"

"Rin deserved to be a Queen."

"Of course she did, and _you_- Wait—Sess, you can't mean that you-"

"She will not be remembered as a common whore—you be sure of that."

But before Inuyasha could say another word, Sesshoumaru was gone, and they were left with nothing but the sound of hooves clattering over stone, distancing more rapidly than they had ever known a horse could run.

In the East, the sun was just beginning to rise.

_Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,_

_With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!_

_Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,_

_When they shot him down on the highway,_

_Down like a dog on the highway,_

_And he lay in his blood on the highway, with a bunch of lace at his throat._

———_Continues in Epilogue_


	3. Epilogue

_And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,_

_When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,_

_When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor..._

It was the very next morning when the residents of the Houshi Inn received a messenger who demanded he speak with "Prince Inuyasha." Miroku and the twins were so stunned that they had to sit down while Kagome, who had received a personal confession from Inuyasha years before, silently brought them ale to soothe their nerves. Sango, who had had a feeling that this might be the case from the conversation that had transpired between Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru the previous day, silently stroked Kirara's blond hair as she led the messenger to the door of Inuyasha's room and left him there.

Since Sesshoumaru's departure the previous day, Inuyasha had remained shut in his and Kagome's room. Kagome had slept in her brothers' room, taking Souta's bed while the two brothers shared Kohaku's bed—not that they had really been able to sleep anyway.

Sango had spent both day and night sobbing, and had eventually fallen into a fitful sleep in Miroku's arms as the two of them cradled their one remaining daughter like she was the most precious treasure in all the world. By morning, she was too worn out to do much more than lifelessly go through the motions. She smiled tiredly for Kirara, but no one else, not even Miroku, could get a word or a change of expression out of her.

Kagome had been playing the all-powerful mother of the family, cooking for everyone, offering to do Sango's chores, forcing Miroku and the twins to do their chores as well as Inuyasha, and just making sure that everyone was alive and well.

When the messenger knocked on Inuyasha's door and requested an audience with the Prince, Inuyasha ignored him as he had ignored everyone else to knock on that door to try and speak with him. But when the messenger cleared his throat and tried again, this time addressing Inuyasha as King, Inuyasha sprang to his feet and threw open the door.

The messenger gave a start, staring at the horror that had appeared before him. Inuyasha's long black hair was matted, his golden eyes were bloodshot, and his face was ashen white. Still, after a moment of staring at each other, the messenger smiled.

"Prince Inuyasha," he said, and the wrinkles around his eyes deepened. "You certainly have grown up."

"Do I know you?" Inuyasha's voice was hoarse, and the messenger had to wonder with bewilderment whether the young King had been crying.

"I was a messenger in the palace in the days of your father," the messenger replied with a bow. "I don't expect you to remember me—I was about your age then, and you were but a boy—but your brother has sent me to deliver to you the news of his death, and his reconquest of your kingdom."

"So," and Inuyasha's voice sounded even hoarser, "he did it then. And how, pray, did a dead man bid you deliver me the news?"

"King N- Er, I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, _Naraku_ stabbed him through the stomach. It was not a quick death—though I must say, I have never heard anyone do so much after being wounded that way: he pulled a knife from his shoe and threw it. It hit its mark, piercing Naraku through the heart; he had met me earlier at the palace gate, and bid me follow him. After Naraku fell, I rushed to his side, and he bid me bring you the news and have you crowned King."

Inuyasha thought he would throw up. If he had ever thought Rin crazy for loving a man like Sesshoumaru, such emotions were long gone. Now, for the first time, it struck him that Sesshoumaru was definitely not heartless; and Rin's love for the man had definitely been more than reciprocated.

Inuyasha sighed, pressing his fingers to his forehead. How little he had known of both his brother and niece! Rin knew that he had once had a brother whom he still disliked—was that why she had never told him? She had known that Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were brothers, that much was for certain.

"And he said nothing else?" Inuyasha asked quietly.

The messenger furrowed his wrinkling brow. "No, Majesty, nothing that I can- Ah, yes, there were a few murmured apologies which I can only assume were meant for you, as they were certainly not meant for anyone present... He also..." The messenger trailed off, and averted his eyes, swallowing as though he regretted starting that sentence.

"What?" Inuyasha demanded.

"N- Nothing, sire."

"What?" Inuyasha kept his voice and eyes steady as he had seen his father do many a time when he was a little boy.

"W- Well, sire, he kept mentioning a name, but I can't say that I could quite catch it—b- but I believe it may have been Lynn—and I believe that he wanted news of his death taken to her as well. I feel that this Lady Lynn may have been his Queen, had things been-"

"Rin."

"-different- Pardon, sire?"

"Rin. Her name was Rin."

"You know this lady, sire?"

"She is—was..." Inuyasha trailed off. She had been his niece. He had been his brother. They had fought the world alone, and Inuyasha had lost both of them on the same day that they had won their battle at the cost of their lives. He hadn't even realized how much he cared about his half brother until he had lost him—or maybe he had only begun to love his brother when he had realized that his brother knew how to love, truly and deeply.

Inuyasha looked up at the messenger. "She was my brother's wife," he said.

It was no lie, in Inuyasha's mind. They had known each other for over a decade according to Rin, and their love had proved to run deeper than life itself. The lack of a marriage in a church meant nothing—they were married in every way that mattered. So many "lovers" were merely flings that the word "lover" always seemed to mean a fling, and the two of them didn't deserve to be remembered as such.

Suddenly, Inuyasha's throat constricted—Rin had told him that her parents had been murdered by Naraku's guards. Inuyasha remembered the family name that she had spoken once—it was one that even he recognized. If Naraku had never torn down the royal family—if Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had remained princes, and Rin's parents had lived—surely Rin and Sesshoumaru would have met, with parents such as Rin's. They would have been married long ago, had that been the case.

Rin had protested her innocence before Naraku's soldiers, and Inuyasha believed her with all his heart. He knew Rin well enough to know that she was a terrible liar, at least—how she had managed to keep her relationship with Sesshoumaru a secret for so long was far beyond him. Inuyasha had no doubt that Sesshoumaru had never bedded Rin, and that neither had intended to enter into such a relationship until Sesshoumaru's battle had ended and they were wed: Sesshoumaru had always been, if nothing else, almost annoyingly honorable that way.

Suddenly, Inuyasha could see the palace that had once been his home vividly before him, where Sesshoumaru and Rin could have reigned as King and Queen and had as many children as they had ever wanted.

Tears came to Inuyasha's eyes, and he blinked them back. _Why?_ Why had this had to happen to them? They had done nothing to deserve such a fate—Naraku's rise to power had ruined everything.

But Sesshoumaru's last wish was that Inuyasha return to the city—the palace—and reign as King over their father's kingdom. Inuyasha didn't need the messenger to tell him that, for Sesshoumaru had said as much before he had left to fight Naraku.

"What should I do?" Inuyasha asked the messenger, looking at him determinedly.

"Return to the palace, Majesty," the messenger replied, bowing to show that it was a request rather than a command. "There is now no authority figure in the land, and that can be severely damaging if left so for too long. The sooner you return, the easier it will be to straighten things out. Your father's men were imprisoned—you have but to release them, and they will prove themselves loyal to you."

"Very well," sighed Inuyasha. "Just...give me some time to bid my family farewell." The messenger did not point out that he could just bring them along—it wasn't that simple, he knew. These people probably preferred the common life, and a palace directly after a rebellion was hardly safe anyhow.

"As you wish, Majesty," the messenger bowed, retreating from the room—and nearly bumping into Kagome, who was standing outside it. A lesser man would have glared, but the messenger was wiser than to antagonize a woman who carried a child, and bowed respectfully instead.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said softly once the messenger could be heard descending the staircase. "You're going back, then."

After a moment of silence, he spoke. "Remember the first time I told you about where I came from, and how my old life was?"

"Of course," Kagome smiled softly, seating herself on the bed beside him. "You told me that your brother was a violent egotistical bastard who would have probably led the country to ruin."

"I was wrong."

"Were you?" Inuyasha's head spun round to stare at Kagome. "There's no doubt that you were right about the violent. His first reaction to the death of the woman he loved was to charge down the person responsible. Egotistical, too. I don't think it ever crossed his mind that he might not be able to save Rin when she was in danger. Bastard was the only exaggeration."

"Kagome..." Kagome looked at him silently, urging him to continue. "I can see it. Whenever I close my eyes, they're right there. Sometimes I see them as they must have been, wandering through the forest while Sesshoumaru fought for his cause and Rin stood beside him, healing him when he needed it and supporting him all the while.

"But more than that, I see them as they _should_ have been, Kagome... I see Rin running around in the palace courtyard with her children while Sess stands by and watches them with that expression that makes him look heartless. I can just see the two of them ruling the kingdom side by side: Sess's cold calculations balanced out by Rin's all-encompassing kindness. I just...they should've had that. They should have been able to marry, have children..."

"Shh..." Kagome hushed him soothingly. "I know. Shh..."

That day, Inuyasha left for the palace with the messenger, covering himself in a cloak to hide his raven black hair and golden eyes from the crowds when they galloped through the city. Sango and Miroku were the only ones who had not insisted on coming—it had taken very firm pursuasion to keep the twins and Kagome away, but Inuyasha wanted no more casualties in what should have been his and Sesshoumaru's battle alone.

_...A highwayman comes riding-_

_Riding-riding-_

_A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door._

It took nearly a year before the kingdom reached the realms of relative stability once more. After a month of separation, Kagome had insisted on returning to her husband's side, bringing with her their newborn son, whom she affectionately named Shippou. Sango and Miroku never left the inn, but the twins rode back and forth carrying news, and occasionally Kirara, with them.

Inuyasha could not express the relief he felt to know that taxes had decreased to a more reasonabe amount, the assassination attempts were growing rarer and rarer by the month, and the palace staff was growing more stable.

The first thing he did once things returned to this state of stability was to arrange a ride out of the city with Kagome and Shippou to the Houshi Inn. He missed his family—dearly.

Sesshoumaru and Rin still crossed Inuyasha and Kagome's minds every so often—they were definitely not forgotten, for Inuyasha had seen to it that their names be known throughout the land as the former King and his Queen, who had fought to regain their land even from the exile that King Naraku had forced upon them.

But the pain was almost something from a memory. Things were better now. Why reopen healing wounds? The rest of the family was still alive, and there was no longer anything to keep them apart.

Inuyasha's excursion plan went smoothly, as intended: he and Kagome donned cloaks that covered both of them, including Shippou in Kagome's arms, and rode out the servants' entrance of the palace. Their entourage of soldiers was hidden, dispersed some distance away from them, and only there to see that they reached the inn safely. After that, they were to return only when Inuyasha sent for them with the message that he would be returning.

No journey had ever felt so long to Inuyasha: how were Miroku and Sango? How had Kirara changed in the month since they had last seen her? Was the inn still exactly as it had been?

When the inn came into sight, Inuyasha felt excited as he could never remember having felt before. It looked exactly as it always had, and when Inuyasha dismounted to open the gate, Sango appeared to welcome the visitors—and her eyes lit up to see them.

"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed "Kagome! You have no idea how I've wanted to see you!"

"Nice to see you again too, Sango," Inuyasha grinned, remembering that the last time he had seen her, she had been dark and sullen and depressed.

Kagome dismounted easily, pushing the cloak aside to reveal Shippou; Sango cooed over the infant boy, and the sisters began a lively chatter about what seemed to be everything and anything. Grinning, Inuyasha went to untack their horses and put them in the stable—and found Miroku there, apparently chatting with a customer.

"...telling you, I saw them!" Inuyasha wondered if it was his imagination that the other man sounded irate.

"Now really," Miroku was replying, "I'm sure that you just had one too many mugs of ale."

"No, I most certainly did _not!_ This inn is haunted, and I'm leaving!" The man snatched the bridle that Miroku had been holding, and began tacking up a horse.

"Miroku," Inuyasha took this opportunity to call. Miroku looked around, and his eyes widened, and a grin spread across his face.

"Inuyasha! Wonderful to see you! Have you been well?"

"Naturally! Now, what's this I hear about a haunted inn?" Inuyasha grinned, expecting the usual joke. But Miroku's brow furrowed.

"It- It's the strangest thing. Some people say that they see... But no, it's nothing actually. So, want some ale once we get finished untacking those horses of yours?"

Inuyasha's brow furrowed, but he wisely pursued the subject no further. Grinning his assent, the two of them began working side by side on the horses, and Inuyasha knew that he was home.

Soon Inuyasha and Kagome were working about the inn as they had everyday in the past, and everything returned to the ordinary. Inuyasha forgot the nonsense about the inn being haunted, and Kagome forgot all about the mention of ghosts that she had received from a certain particularly drunk man in the bar.

But that night, when the two of them went on a moonlit walk with Shippou in Inuyasha's arms, they understood.

It was a beautiful night: the moon was full, the moor about the inn looked purple in the moonlight, the road was a black ribbon along that purple moor... They could not have hoped for a better night for a walk.

It happened when they were approaching the inn, their pleasent walk coming to an end.

Kagome caught her breath and stopped.

It took Inuyasha a few moments to notice that she was no longer following him, and he looked around.

"Kag-"

But she hastily hushed him with a hand over his mouth, and pointed at the inn. Her face was pale white, and her finger trembled violently. Inuyasha's eyes followed her shaking finger.

His breath caught in his throat, and he could not have spoken if he had tried. Suddenly, nothing mattered but the sight before his eyes.

There before his eyes was a man with long silver hair mounted upon a horse beside the inn. He was looking up at a young maiden of about nineteen who was leaning out of the second storey window of the inn, looking back at him with a wide smile and adoring eyes. The man's face was expressionless at a glance, but Inuyasha saw the sparkle in his eyes and the ghost of a smile at his lips as he gazed up at the maiden.

Inuyasha saw his half-brother and adoptive niece-in-law reach towards each other, the tips of their fingers touching. But they were too far to reach any further, and the girl tossed her legs over the windowsill, falling into the arms of the man with complete faith that he would catch her. He did, holding her against him as though she were a priceless treasure that he could not bear to lose.

The girl's face was filled with delight as she laughed at nothing in particular, eyes that danced with adoration looking up into normally expressionless eyes that sparkled affectionately. His lips brushed tenderly against her forehead.

And then they were gone, as though they had never been at all.

_Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,_

_And he taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred;_

_He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there_

_But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,_

_Bess, the landlord's daughter,_

_Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair._

_The End_


End file.
